PopularÂLeague of Legendsstreamer Ashkan “TF Blade" Homayouni has been briefly banned from Twitch after it was thought that he used a racial slur during a recent stream.The Team Liquid streamer was thought to have used the “n-word” while playing a recent game ofÂLeague of Legends. In reality, TF Blade used the word “idiots” which when said quickly and combined with the streamer’s accent was seemingly mistaken for the slur.Here’s the footage from the stream in question:

Originally banned from Twitch for 30 days, the platform has since reduced the ban to only 7 days after an appeal. TF Blade shared anemail he received directly from Twitch on Twitterthat stated that the appeals team at the company heard him say nothing but the “n-word” even when purposefully listening for the word “idiots.” I’ve watched the clip from the stream myself dozens of times at this point and I’m still not really sure how anything other than “idiots” can be heard.

Others from theÂLeague of Legendscommunity as a whole have also started to stand up for TF Blade and have expressed frustration with Twitch over the matter. Team Liquid owner Steve Arhancet said earlier today that he has reached out to Twitch and has asked that they not only remove the ban but apologize for this entire situation.

Former Riot Games commentator Aidan “Zirene” Moon has also added hisvoice to the conversation on Twitterreferring to the entire matter as “awful” and adding that “They are directly calling him a liar.” Team Vitality head coachYamatoCannon also chimedin saying that he hopes TF Blade tries to sue for what has happened.

In a time where they have been more than enough “heated gaming moments” caught on stream from various personalities, I understand why Twitch would have such a strict rule against slurs and their usage. It’s a zero-tolerance policy that I respect.

At the same time, it’s ridiculous to see the platform not take back this ban in a situation where they have clearly been wrong. The longer this ban continues to stick, the louder the conversation surrounding it continues to get and the worse Twitch continues to look for the whole matter.

We’ll see if Twitch ends up removing this ban soon or if they’ll double-down on the decision here in the future.